Near Fredericksburg in Gillespie County, Texas — The American South (West South Central)

Guenther's Live Oak Mill

Photographed by Larry D. Moore, June 8, 2019

1. Guenther's Live Oak Mill Marker

Inscription. By 1848, Carl Hilmar Guenther (1826-1902), master millwright, had completed his apprenticeship in Germany and immigrated to the U.S.. In search of opportunities and a good grist mill site, he journeyed south from Wisconsin to New Orleans, and then west to Texas. In 1851 he bought land and water rights on Live Oak Creek near Fredericksburg. After six months of construction, his mill was operational, but a flood destroyed the first dam. One month after the floor the mill was working again.

Ox drawn wagons loaded with harvested crops converged on the mill in the mornings, and after the farmers' business was completed the men remained to visit with each other. The mill became a center of social life in the Hill Country community.

Guenther was granted U.S. Citizenship in gillespie County in 1854. He married Dorothea Pape in 1855. They lived in a home near the mill and were eventually the parents of seven children.

In 1859 Guenther chose a site about one mile from the center of San Antonio as a new site for his mill operation. Guenther mills soon became the Pioneer Flour Mills, an enterprise which became a flourishing business in Texas and the Southwest.

Erected 1991 by Texas Historical Commission. (Marker Number 10049.)

Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Industry & Commerce • Settlements & Settlers. A significant historical year for this entry is 1848.

Location. 30° 13.695′ N, 98° 54.702′ W. Marker is near Fredericksburg, Texas, in Gillespie County. It is on State Highway 16 0.2 miles south of Horseshoe Bend, on the right when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Fredericksburg TX 78624, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Regionally, this marker is in the Hill Country.

Globally, it is in North America,

a Gulf of Mexico

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state,

the Western Hemisphere,

the Western World,

and the Anglosphere.

Historically, it finds itself in what was once New Spain,

the Republic of Texas,

and one of the Confederate States of America.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 4 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies: The Wunderlich Houses (approx. 3.1 miles away); Fredericksburg Lodge No. 794, A.F. & A.M. (approx. 3.2 miles away); Lehne-Itz House (approx. 3.6 miles away); Baethge-Behrend Homestead (approx. 3.6 miles away); Henry Basse House (approx. 3.7 miles away); Dangers Stone House (approx. 3.8 miles away); Pape Log Cabin (approx. 3.8 miles away); Mueller-Petmecky House (approx. 3.8 miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Fredericksburg.

Guenther's Live Oak Mill Marker Area image. Click for full size.

Photographed by Larry D. Moore, June 8, 2019

2. Guenther's Live Oak Mill Marker Area

Photographed by Jeff Leichsenring, August 2, 2026

3. Guenther's Live Oak Mill Marker

Photographed by Jeff Leichsenring, August 2, 2026

4. Guenther's Live Oak Mill Marker

Credits. This page was last revised on August 5, 2026. It was originally submitted on June 9, 2019, by Larry D. Moore of Del Valle, Texas. This page has been viewed 2,093 times since then and 145 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on June 9, 2019, by Larry D. Moore of Del Valle, Texas. 3, 4. submitted on August 4, 2026, by Jeff Leichsenring of Garland, Texas. • Bernard Fisher was the editor who published this page.